A Single Rose
by i-love-svu
Summary: A short story about some of what Lady Heather goes through after Zoe's death. Catherine Lady Heather friendship. Complete.


Top of Form

_"Are things supposed to be this hard?"_ Heather wondered to herself. A week after Zoe had been murdered and just one day after her funeral, the grieving mother was lost. She didn't know what to do with herself. During the previous seven days, she had hardly accomplished anything. Most of her time was spent lying in her bed, sobbing until she fell asleep. As much as she disliked and needing help, Heather had hoped things would get better as time went on. But so far, things had only gotten worse. Her employee's hushed whispers didn't help matters; She heard everything they said. Every single worried sentence. "Is she okay?" "Should we do something?" And the most frequent, "Who should we call?" They all assumed there was someone who could make her feel better, but that couldn't have been further from the truth.

With a distressed sigh Heather strode out of the parlor, her heeled boots clicking quietly as she walked. She pulled the front door of her dominion open and much to her surprise, a familiar face was standing on the other side.

"Hi," Catherine Willows greeted softly. Her strawberry-blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail, making her cheeks bones look slightly sharped than usual.

"Miss Willows. I'm sorry, it's just I wasn't expecting any company." Heather attempted a smile but failed. Instead, she decided to step outside and figure out the nature of the CSI's visit. "I was just going to step out into the garden for a walk. Would you like to join me?"

Catherine nodded with a small grin. The two had barely spoken to each other and she could already notice a difference in the dominatrix. She would later find out that Heather was now a former dominatrix; Heather had decided to quit participating in the sessions a few days after learning of her daughter's death. She just didn't have the correct set of mind to perform such activities.

The two strode alongside each other in complete silence on the gravel driveway. Before long Catherine spotted 'the garden', as Heather referred to it; A vine covered archway served as the entrance to said garden. A grey paved walkway led to a marble bench, which was big enough for at least three people to sit on. In a small section of grass about two feet in front of the bench was a single rose that had obviously been planted recently. Heather led the way to the bench and sat down first. Catherine followed suit, sitting down next to the brunette.

"Zoe loved roses." Heather quietly informed Catherine. "I planted this in her memory." She did her best to stifle a sob but even though the cry was muffled, Catherine still heard it. She gently placed her hand on top of Heather's as she said, "I'm so sorry for your loss."

Heather hastily calmed herself. She had a very hard time allowing herself to be emotional in front of other people. "Did Grisssom send you?" She asked, drying her eyes with a crumpled tissue.

"No." Catherine shook her head. "I'm here on my own."

Heather looked at the woman for a moment. As the tears welled up in her eyes again, she had to look away. "I appreciate you coming by."

Catherine felt her heart pang with pain Heather. The blond could only imagine what she was going through. It was impossible to conjure how Heather must have felt. Of course it'd be extremely difficult to lose a child. But to lose your only child, then find that you might have a grandchild out there somewhere? That could make things worse.

"Is there anything I can do?" Catherine inquired, her voice drenched in sincerity. She had only met Heather a very few times and yet she felt a strong connection to the brunette. They were alike in many ways, the biggest being that they were strong women who were good at their jobs.  
Heather softly sighed, her eyes fixed upon the red rose. "I... would you please have a cup of tea with me?" She looked at Catherine with a somewhat desperate look on her face. "I don't want to be alone right now." She had hoped Gil would've shown up. He had, after all, stopped her from killing her daughter's murder. While she understood that he had to work, she got the impression that maybe, just maybe he didn't care. If he wasn't able or willing to be there for her, Catherine was. And that was better than being by herself.  
"That sounds okay." Catherine agreed.  
As they made their way back to the house, Heather didn't feel quite so horrible. At least if Catherine was there, she would have someone to focus on besides herself. And until she was ready to deal with Zoe's death, concentrating on someone else didn't seem like such a bad plan.

FIN


End file.
